Comments

amandabuns, 2 years agoThanks ya'll, I think the coin would have been about the size of an American quarter.

Phatbuddha, 2 years agoNice :) I've got a old one pence ring like your one, your one is the only other one Ive seen. I've got a one shilling made in to a ball for a necklace. I will put both of them on here soon. Thanks for sharing :)

amandabuns, 2 years agoPlease do phatbuddha! I love seeing jewelry made from coins. I believe sometimes they are referred to as sweetheart jewelry.

blunderbuss2, 2 years agoAssuming the lettering is from the face of the coin, how could it be made to face the inside?

Here's a link that describes the process, although I like mine better than their result!

Phatbuddha, 2 years agoI was wondering how they was made. Thanks for putting that site up. You are right them rings don't look half as good as the old ones :)

blunderbuss2, 2 years agoamandabuns, I made one of those in grade school (no extra credit was given but they didn't put me back a year). The rolling of the outer edge distorts the lettering. Your's is not done that way I'm sure.

amandabuns, 2 years agoWell that's very interesting! I guess I just assumed the process would be similar. I suppose I shall have to do some more research. Thank you for your input!

BHock45, 2 years agoVery nice, I have one that I made posted as well. You do it by tapping the coin for a long time with a hammer or a spoon. Then you drill a small hole in the center of the coin and file until it fits your finger. Takes a long time.

BHock45, 2 years agoyou're welcome amandabuns, you can actually make them out of modern U.S. quarters (non silver) and bronze coins as well, even though they may tarnish your finger. I started to make one from a British New Pence, but never finished. I think you may have inspired me to finish it up now! Thanks!

blunderbuss2, 2 years agoI repeat, peening the rim of a coin cannot show the lettering on the inside without distortion. This is made another way.

amandabuns, 2 years agoI'm trying to wrap my brain around how it might have been made, but I admit I'm stumped.

blunderbuss2, 2 years agoI am too. The letters are perfect & so had to have been there originally & wrapped around a mandrel or put there later. No way that is from peening!

BHock45, 2 years agoyeah I see what you're saying, I didn't really look closely before, they must have put the letters on afterward....it looks so perfect.

BHock45, 2 years agoi hate to suggest this, but could it be a normal silver ring with the letters just stamped on the inside?

amandabuns, 2 years agoI'm confident it's made from a real coin. And I believe it's a rare date for the type, so made before it was collectible.

amandabuns, 2 years agoWell, a mintage of 173,000 would make it rare for American issues, but there are less collectors of ZAR silver lol. It has been quite reduced in diameter, from about 28mm (larger than a quarter) to about the size of a US nickel, around a woman's size 7.

blunderbuss2, 2 years agoBHock, I lean toward your explanation but look so perfectly gov't stampings. I'm not unfamiliar with this sort of thing at all & it has me stumped. Even if the lettering from the coin were cut out, they would be in a circular shape & straightening that out would distort the lettering even if wrapping around a mandrel & soldering. To do what we are thinking would require engraving on a flat or slightly curved surface & then wrapped & soldiered. Engraving on the inside of a ring would be very difficult & stamping inside a ring without letters being deeper on one side is virtually impossible. This has me stumped & waiting on a resident specialist to give an opinion. The soldering can be done & polished without any evidence.

amandabuns, 2 years agoThe outside of the ring is perfectly smooth, although it has a lot of wear marks. I didn't show the outside very well in my photographs, I'm afraid. I'm not sure why someone would go to all the trouble of soldering letters on the inside of this ring when its really not worth that much. And like I said above, I'm confident it's a real coin. I've examined expertly soldered coins before, and there's always something off. Thanks for all your input regardless, I'm sure we will get it figured out!

blunderbuss2, 2 years agoI'm not referring to soldering the letters in but just the ends.

amandabuns, 2 years agoWell, it's an interesting idea, but I can't detect any seams under 10x magnification. I wish you could see it in person, it has a much better presence than in my photographs. :)

blunderbuss2, 2 years agoVery interesting piece. I'm no expert on how this was done but have a lot of experience in related work. So far, I see no given explanation that could possible result in letters & numbers being put inside the ring without ANY distortion. I've just been hoping somebody comes up with a good explanation. I sure don't have one. It will probably be something simple if we hear it & we will be thinking, "why didn't I think of that".